The NFL draft had many firsts occur during its draft this year, the biggest of which being that the draft was held virtually. Even with the draft not being held in person in Las Vegas, it was still a highly anticipated first round that did not disappoint in the slightest. The only minor disappointment that may have occurred was that there were no major trades that happened during the draft.
Four trades took place during night one of the draft and by far the most intriguing one was that the Green Bay Packers traded up into the first round for the number 26 pick from the Miami Dolphins. This trade was the by far the most interesting trade of the night and we will look deeper into it later.
With night one of the draft officially in the books, let’s take a look at the winners and losers from Thursday night.
Winner: Cardinals
The Arizona Cardinals have already taken their fans on a wild ride this offseason, trading for one of the best wide receivers in the game in DeAndre Hopkins. Now with great offensive skill position players there were certain holes that the Cardinals needed to fill. Well, the Cardinals filled that hole by drafting one of the best players in the entire draft, LB Isaiah Simmons.
Simmons was easily one of the most talented and versatile players in the entire draft. Playing linebacker/safety/cornerback in college, Simmons will be a force in both the pass defense and the run defense. With size to go along with speed Simmons can be a force at either position they decide to play him at.
The biggest weakness that Simmons faces is his pass rushing, assuming that will not be his role in the NFL he should do just fine. While the Cardinals still have holes that they need to fill during the rest of this draft picking up Simmons was a great first step and one that should pay dividends sooner rather than later.
Loser: Raiders
The Las Vegas Raiders had two picks in the first round on Thursday and it is pretty safe to say that the at least one of their picks underwhelmed expectations. With their first pick at number 12 the Raiders selected the speedy wide receiver Henry Ruggs III. The pick itself isn’t terrible, the only reason that this pick is underwhelming is because you had arguably two better wide receivers still on the board in CeeDee Lamb and Jerry Jeudy.
There are certain things that you cannot teach, and that kind of speed is one of them. Ruggs is by far the fastest player in the draft and will open up the offense by forcing defenses to respect the speed. However, it just seemed as if there were two better receivers on the board, but the Raiders drafted to their needs.
With their second pick of the first round the Raiders selected cornerback Damon Arnette with the number 19 pick. Many saw Arnette as a reach with the number 19 pick, but it was also unclear as who the third rated cornerback was behind Okudah and Henderson. While many look at this pick as a reach Arnette’s resume speaks for itself.
The Raiders filled their needs with their first two picks of the draft which is a good thing, however, they also could have done better with some of the talent that was still on the board during their selections.
Winner: Vikings
When the Minnesota Vikings traded away one of their top receivers in Stefon Diggs earlier this offseason it was pretty clear that they were going to get a wide receiver in the draft. Not only were they expected to get a wide receiver, but they were also projected to take a cornerback with their two first round picks.
Not only did they fill both of their needs, but they also may have found their replacement wide receiver for the one they lost. With the 22nd pick the wide receiver that the Vikings wanted fell right into their lap once the Philadelphia Eagles passed on him. The LSU product Justin Jefferson fell right into their lap. Jefferson proved during his final year in college that he could be a huge threat on the outside, now without Diggs that is especially what they need.
After picking up Jefferson the Vikings then traded back with the 49ers for the number 31 pick while also gaining a fourth and fifth round selection. With their second selection the Vikings picked up the corner out of TCU Jeff Gladney.
Gladney was probably the most talented corner still on the board and while he would have been there at pick 25 if they wanted to get him there, they gained an extra two picks while also getting the corner that they wanted. Part of the reason that the Vikings were winners other than getting the best wide receiver still on the board is that they were able to gain an extra two picks to help fill other needs while also getting who they wanted.
Loser: Giants
The New York Giants had a number of glaring holes that they needed to fill heading into the draft, one of them was at offensive lineman. The Giants decided to go with the offensive lineman, getting Andrew Thomas.
While Thomas is not a bad prospect at all they missed out on getting Isaiah Thomas, a gamechanger in this year’s draft. It is understandable that they decided to go with an offensive lineman since they need to be able to protect Barkley and Jones, but Simmons seemed to be a one of a kind prospect.
Andrew Thomas was also not the clear top lineman in the draft, draft projections are not always the be all end all but many of them had Thomas as the third rated lineman. With the number of great lineman in the draft it seemed to make more sense to go with the one of a kind rather than the position with is very deep in the class.
We will have to wait and see how Thomas pans out for the Giants, but strictly looking at the pick it seems to be more of a who they could have gotten as oppose to who they did pick.
Winner: Jaguars
The Jacksonville Jaguars have been pretty good at picking out secondary talent in the recent years, this was another year it seems as though they picked another stud at cornerback. With the 9th overall pick the Jaguars took the corner out of Florida CJ Henderson. Henderson looks to be a lockdown corner who is good at both man and zone.
Henderson is not a physical corner, but he will be able to keep up with almost any wide receiver which made him a great first pick. With their second pick they were able to get the LB K’Lavon Chaisson who looks to be the edge rusher that they needed.
The Jaguars seemed to have filled their positional needs after some in season and offseason trades occurred. They didn’t necessarily make any kind of spectacular pick, but they took the best possible players to help fill their needs.
Loser: Packers
The Green Bay Packers looked to make an unnecessary trade up with the Miami Dolphins just to get a quarterback that they hope to one day take over for Aaron Rodgers. This is similar to when the Packers drafted Rodgers, when he was drafted it was to sit behind Brett Favre for a couple of seasons and learn from an all-time great.
It looks like they have done the same thing by picking up quarterback Jordan Love. Picking up Jordan Love isn’t necessarily the bad part of this pick (even though he would have been there at 30) the bad part is not getting Rodgers any help.
The Packers obviously see something in Love which made them draft him, but they also could have used some defensive or help at receiver. By drafting a quarterback, it could cause a problem with Rodgers and the team that could bring bad chemistry because of it.
That is why this was a bad pick, not because Love is a bad player but because you may have lost the trust of your main quarterback. The Packers are a team who could potentially make a run to the Super Bowl and drafting another quarterback for the future will not help them do that now, they needed a receiver or defensive help that they will be sure to address on day two.
Winner: Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys already had a loaded offense that just got even more dangerous by picking up CeeDee Lamb. Lamb was touted as one of the top two receivers in the draft and rightfully so, it seems like there is nothing that Lamb cannot do.
While wide receiver may not have been the most glaring need for the Cowboys you cannot blame them for taking the most talented player who was left on the board. Now Dak Prescott has an even better offense to work with which could easily help the Cowboys make it back to the playoffs.
Although the defense is still in need of playmakers it may not be a huge deal with their offensive power. With the ability to score at will the defense will only have to do decent job in order to win the game.
With a star offensive player going to Dallas it seems as though the Cowboys will be focusing on defense for the remainder of this draft.